‘the last of us’ producer word games ups jacqueline lesko to president of production

Jacqueline Lesko has been promoted to President of Production at Word Games — the production company founded by multiple Emmy-winning writer, producer and director Craig Mazin, which is best

known for its work on HBO’s smash hit series _Chernobyl _and _The Last of Us_. Lesko co-exec produced _The Last of Us_ Season 1 and will exec produce the second season of the

post-apocalyptic zombie show, co-created by Mazin and Neil Druckmann. She was also a co-producer on Mazin’s 2019 limited series _Chernobyl_, examining the fallout of the Soviet nuclear

disaster, prior to Word Games producing the award-winning short _George Lucas in Love_, as well as the award-winning feature doc_ Spinning Plates_.  “Jacqueline has been an integral part of

our company’s growth and success for a decade now, and the proof of her value is right there on the screen for everyone to see,” said Mazin in a statement. “I couldn’t ask for a better

partner as we continue our journey with my own projects as well as shows we’re developing with other artists.” WATCH ON DEADLINE Coming in as HBO’s most-watched series in both Europe and

Latin America, _The Last of Us_ is based on the Druckmann-penned video game developed for PlayStation by Naughty Dog. The show takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been

destroyed. Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon

becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival. The show was renewed for a second season last month, hitting on its

highest viewership to date with an audience of 8.2M last Sunday in its airing against the Oscars. In addition to readying _The Last of Us_‘ second season, Word Games is developing additional

projects for HBO as part of their exclusive multi-year overall deal with the premium cabler.